Charles Cross?

[Uncle Jack]

Having read the general view of Polly Nichol's murder, it is generally accepted that Robert Paul came across Charles Cross croutched over Nichol's body and he said "Come over here, it's a woman", thus giving the impression that he had just "discovered" the body. Has it ever occurred to anyone that Robert Paul may have actually interupted Jack the Ripper in the midst of his murder? Would love to hear your views and opinions.

Adam xx

[Dan Norder]

Hi Adam,

That suggestion has been offered by at least two different writers. Derek Osborne wrote articles suggesting that Cross was the Ripper for Ripper Notes, Ripperana and even Ripperoo some six years back or more. More recently (the last year or so), Michael Connor proposed the same idea in the e-zine Ripperologist, which for some reason was advertised as a bold, new, never-before-thought-of suspect.

Cross was undoubtedly at a crime scene on the night of a murder, but that doesn't make him any different from lots of other people in this case. There doesn't seem to be any reason to think he was the killer. If he was it seems quite remarkable that he'd already be killing another victim only eight days later after being so close to being caught in the act with Nichols and so close to when he was at the inquest testifying in that other case.

[AdamNeilWood]

Articles on Cross

Hello Adam,

Ripperologist magazine ran two articles featuring research by Michael Connor on Charles Cross as a suspect, specifically issues 72 (October 2006) and 87 (January 2008).

The first of these, Did the Ripper work for Pickfords?, can be read here:

http://www.casebook.org/dissertations/rip-charles-cross.html

Best wishes
Adam Wood
Executive Editor,
Ripperologist magazine

Please contact me if you'd like to read the follow up article from issue 87.

contact@ripperologist.info

[Fisherman]

No, Cross is not a very good suggestion as the Ripper. To begin with, at the inquest Cross stated that he heard the approaching footsteps of Paul from around forty yards away - but still waited for him to come up to the spot where Nichols lay. It was pitch dark - so dark that the two men did not see the blood running from her neck - and there must have been every chance to leave the scene unseen had he been the Ripper.
Also, if he WAS the Ripper, it would be a very strange thing to go looking for a policeman carrying the knife that killed Nichols on his person - for it was not found at the murder site.

I think that we can safely write off Cross as a contender.

The best,
Fisherman

[Supe]

Fisherman,

Valid points to be sure, but do read the dissertation (available right on Casebook) before writing off the possibility entirely.

Don.

[Dan Norder]

I'm surprised that the editors of Ripperologist forgot that they've run three articles over the last couple of years that were written by Michael Connor and which try to argue that Cross was Jack the Ripper. The second article is also online, for anyone who wants to see it:

http://www.casebook.org/dissertations/rip-charles-cross-was-jtr.html

[AdamNeilWood]

Hello Dan,

Many thanks for pointing out my oversight, and especially for pointing readers in the direction of Michael Connor's second article on his research into Cross.

Best wishes
Adam

[Dan Norder]

No problem, Adam. I try to keep up on articles in all the publications. Michael Connor is a good guy whose efforts deserve recognition, even if I disagree with some of his conclusions.